I'm glad Gracie is going to Jr Worlds and not Senior Worlds. It will be good experience going up against the Russian girls and see where she stands. But as it stands now with the Senior Ladies it's not looking good. I was hoping Agnes would at least get second and make the World team. We need the kids to star taking over before Sochi because the older skaters i saw tonight are not getting done and are not the answer. I can only hope that the holdovers from the last Olympic cycle will be gone by 2014. It's harsh but it's true.

Why no Alissa to 4CC? I also would have liked to see one of the youngsters go to Jr Worlds not someone like Gao who has skated at Sr nats for the last 3 years. Someone like Angela Wang or Leah Keiser or Hannah Miller should have gone instead. These kids need the experience heading Sochi.

Maybe Gao can finally break through at Junior Worlds. She hasnt done as well as hoped there yet. The odds of Wang, Keiser, and Miller making the Sochi team with the insane depth the U.S women are building up (and a youngster like Gold who is way better than them) are slim to none anyway so I dont worry about building experience for Sochi. They will have lots of chances to gain experience elsewhere for whatever lies ahead.

Why no Alissa to 4CC? I also would have liked to see one of the youngsters go to Jr Worlds not someone like Gao who has skated at Sr nats for the last 3 years. Someone like Angela Wang or Leah Keiser or Hannah Miller should have gone instead. These kids need the experience heading Sochi.

I suspect Alissa declined--hopefully she will focus on making improvements before Worlds. I disagree with your strategy and agree with pangtongfan. "The kids" will not be ready in time for Sochi with so many other worthies in front of them--this group you mentioned needs to look further down the road. The US needs to send the strongest possible team to Jr. Worlds, as I think results determine JGP spots next season. And maxing out on JGP places WOULD be of real benefit to the next generation of ladies, including the youngsters you mentioned. I think the USFSA probably selected the strongest JW team, and that to me is indeed Gao, Lam, and Gold.

So far I actually agree with the Ladies' and Ice Dance selections and alternates. Except I would have given 4CC third spot to K/G-S rather than to H/D.

The US needs to send the strongest possible team to Jr. Worlds, as I think results determine JGP spots next season. And maxing out on JGP places WOULD be of real benefit to the next generation of ladies, including the youngsters you mentioned. I think the USFSA probably selected the strongest JW team, and that to me is indeed Gao, Lam, and Gold.

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Don't just think that JW results determine JGP slots ; your thoughts are absolutely correct. IMO JGP slots are even more important than JW slots and JGP slots allows a country to build good depth.

If the top result is in the top 3 countries, you get the maximum 14 slots. Lower finishes result in 7 or even fewer slots with the worst scenario being 3 slots. I don't see America in ladies going below 7 ( countries 4-6 ) slots even in the worst case scenario.

Disaster for America would be failure to secure 14 slots ( 2 per JGP ) and only get 7 ( 1 per JGP ).

One thing that has helped the Americans over the years is the ability to almost always maximize the JGP slots.

The American men this season were only entitled to 7 JGP slots ( 4th best country at last JW ) but got extra slots that took them to 13 slots due to Sweden not being able to fill all its slots and Canada leaving almost half the men's slots blank ( HUH? I know ). Sweden and Canada were both entitled to 14 slots this season. Russia also got extra slots due to the Swedish and Canadian vacancies.

Can we please just have 3 spots back at Worlds? Please? I worry about Alissa and Ashley at Worlds though. I hope Alissa can recover fully from her injury and get back on track. As for Ashley, she needs to up her technical content pronto.. She never seems to score well internationally even with clean programs (GP series).

I like the Junior World team. If Christina couldn't get 4CC, at least she gets another chance to prove herself at Junior Worlds. It'll be interesting to see how she and Gracie stack up against each other and against the Russians. So much more excited about Junior Worlds than Worlds.

Hmm, interesting, not surprised about Worlds really, USFSA has always picked the top 2 (or 3 when applicable), only deviating under very unusual circumstances, which isn't the case this year. And especially seeing how Agnes Zawadski did at 15 when she won the US Jr. Title, from there she finished Silver at the 2010 Jr. Worlds, and Bronze at the 2011 Jr. Worlds. So judging from that I expect they hope for Gracie Gold to hopefully do as well as Agnes did. Neither is ready for the big time, still need to work on their presentation, which isn't in the league of Kostner, Asada, Czisny, Korpi. Unfortunately this year is the weakest year at Worlds imho, no big time hitters like Ando nor Kim, but next year it's time to up the ante and start making Worlds respectable again, especially the Olympics where one wants not just artistry, but POWER as well!

This year is the best year for an American to capture a medal, and that's Alissa Czisny, they like her lines, postures, positions, SPINS, beauty, longevity, et al. And if others can win a medal with 3 or 4 jumps then so can Alissa!!!!!!!!!! For Ashley, they won't be so forgiving, nor have they been, but that's alright, I just want her & Alissa to attain that magical number of 13.

4CC, glad that Agnes gets a shot at it, let's see how she holds up this time, because honestly, thinking long term, she (& hopefully Gracie Gold) are the only power hitters America has. Everyone else has smallish jumps, at best average, questionable technique (e.g. flutz, lip, UR, et al). Sad, but true.... :(